I am currently preparing specification for an updated version of a telecom test gear for lab and field use, and I would be thankful to hear opinions of anybody, who might have any experience with this kind of equipment.

This product was originally developed for internal use within a project of a communications system, which is built around the computer telephony (CT) standard H.100 switching bus. When started this project, we attempted to locate a satisfactory off-the-shelf equipment for affordable price, though unsuccessfully - we could not find any standalone unit that would support MVIP and H.100 interfaces. The internal design appeared quite successful, and by now the unit has been in use for some time in our group, and we are going to make another version with extended functionality. In the meantime we are considering the possibility to commercialize this tester as a separate product. In this concern it would be very interesting to have any feedback from designers/system integrators working with E1/T1 circuits and/or CT buses like MVIP and H.100.

The current version of the unit is doing more or less the same that the simplest E1/T1 testers are doing, but the distinctive feature is that it also supports MVIP-90 and H.100 interfaces:- DS0 slot drop/insert- A/mu companding of a DS0 with I/O from/to analog format- Real-time CAS monitoring in timeslot #16 of E1- BER testing- Clock mastering on MVIP and H.100 buses

My questions are:- What are your thoughts about the very idea of commercializing this kind of a tester? It is very preliminary yet, but I think it might sell for something like $800-1500- Have you ever been looking for an inexpensive standalone test gear supporting MVIP and H.100 interfaces?- What functions would seem important to you?